INTEGRATION OF ISLAMIC VALUES IN SCIENCE AND SOCIAL LIFE

In 2018, Indonesia faced a complex dilemma regarding the Measles-Rubella (MR) immunization program. On the one hand, medical science presented data demonstrating the urgency of vaccination to prevent a dangerous disease outbreak. On the other hand, massive public unrest arose regarding the vaccine’s halal status, culminating in a fatwa from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) declaring the MR vaccine haram (forbidden) due to its pork content, but permissible for use in emergencies. This incident was not simply a public health issue, but a monumental case study that exposed a philosophical rift in our intellectual landscape: the dichotomy between science and religion. Science is viewed as a value-free, rational-empirical domain, while religion is considered a separate, private-spiritual realm. Consequently, when the two intersect in the public sphere, what results is not constructive dialogue, but rather clashes or awkward compromises. For a prospective graduate in the field of Islamic Values Integration, this phenomenon is a fundamental starting point. This issue
shows that without a solid philosophical foundation to bridge the two, “integration” efforts will only be patchwork and reactive, not proactive and transformative.